IB 

Union Calendar No. 607 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6069 

[Report No. 115–781, Part I] 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out a 

study on how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to 

buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated with 

sex trafficking or drug trafficking, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2018 

Mr. VARGAS (for himself and Mr. ROTHFUS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JUNE 25, 2018 

Additional sponsor: Ms. SINEMA

JUNE 25, 2018 

Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JUNE 25, 2018 

Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 12, 2018] 


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•HR 6069 RH

A BILL 

To require the Comptroller General of the United States 

to carry out a study on how virtual currencies and online 

marketplaces are used to buy, sell, or facilitate the financing of goods or services associated with sex trafficking or drug trafficking, and for other purposes. 


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•HR 6069 RH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fight Illicit Networks 

5 and Detect Trafficking Act’’ or the ‘‘FIND Trafficking Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) According to the Drug Enforcement Adminis9 tration (DEA) 2017 National Drug Threat Assess10 ment, transnational criminal organizations are in11 creasingly using virtual currencies. 

12 (2) The Treasury Department has recognized 

13 that: ‘‘The development of virtual currencies is an at14 tempt to meet a legitimate market demand. According 

15 to a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago economist, U.S. 

16 consumers want payment options that are versatile 

17 and that provide immediate finality. No U.S. pay18 ment method meets that description, although cash 

19 may come closest. Virtual currencies can mimic cash’s 

20 immediate finality and anonymity and are more 

21 versatile than cash for online and cross-border trans22 actions, making virtual currencies vulnerable for il23 licit transactions.’’. 

24 (3) Virtual currencies have become a prominent 

25 method to pay for goods and services associated with 


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1 illegal sex trafficking and drug trafficking, which are 

2 two of the most detrimental and troubling illegal ac3 tivities facilitated by online marketplaces. 

4 (4) Online marketplaces, including the darkweb, 

5 have become a prominent platform to buy, sell, and 

6 advertise for illicit goods and services associated with 

7 sex trafficking and drug trafficking. 

8 (5) According to the International Labour Orga9 nization, in 2016, 4.8 million people in the world 

10 were victims of forced sexual exploitation, and in 

11 2014, the global profit from commercial sexual exploi12 tation was $99 billion. 

13 (6) In 2016, within the United States, the Center 

14 for Disease Control estimated that there were 64,000 

15 deaths related to drug overdose, and the most severe 

16 increase in drug overdoses were those associated with 

17 fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids), 

18 which amounted to over 20,000 overdose deaths. 

19 (7) According to the U.S. Department of the 

20 Treasury 2015 National Money Laundering Risk As21 sessment, an estimated $64 billion is generated annu22 ally from U.S. drug trafficking sales. 

23 (8) Illegal fentanyl in the United States origi24 nates primarily from China, and it is readily avail25 able to purchase through online marketplaces. 


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1 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

2 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General of 

3 the United States shall conduct a study on how virtual cur4 rencies and online marketplaces are used to facilitate sex 

5 and drug trafficking. The study shall consider— 

6 (1) how online marketplaces, including the 

7 darkweb, are being used as platforms to buy, sell, or 

8 facilitate the financing of goods or services associated 

9 with sex trafficking or drug trafficking (specifically, 

10 opioids and synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, 

11 fentanyl analogs, and any precursor chemicals associ12 ated with manufacturing fentanyl or fentanyl 

13 analogs) destined for, originating from, or within the 

14 United States; 

15 (2) how financial payment methods, including 

16 virtual currencies and peer-to-peer mobile payment 

17 services, are being utilized by online marketplaces to 

18 facilitate the buying, selling, or financing of goods 

19 and services associated with sex or drug trafficking 

20 destined for, originating from, or within the United 

21 States; 

22 (3) how virtual currencies are being used to fa23 cilitate the buying, selling, or financing of goods and 

24 services associated with sex or drug trafficking, des25 tined for, originating from, or within the United 


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•HR 6069 RH

1 States, when an online platform is not otherwise in2 volved; 

3 (4) how illicit funds that have been transmitted 

4 online and through virtual currencies are repatriated 

5 into the formal banking system of the United States 

6 through money laundering or other means; 

7 (5) the participants (state and non-state actors) 

8 throughout the entire supply chain that participate in 

9 or benefit from the buying, selling, or financing of 

10 goods and services associated with sex or drug traf11 ficking (either through online marketplaces or virtual 

12 currencies) destined for, originating from, or within 

13 the United States; 

14 (6) Federal and State agency efforts to impede 

15 the buying, selling, or financing of goods and services 

16 associated with sex or drug trafficking destined for, 

17 originating from, or within the United States, includ18 ing efforts to prevent the proceeds from sex or drug 

19 trafficking from entering the United States banking 

20 system; 

21 (7) how virtual currencies and their underlying 

22 technologies can be used to detect and deter these il23 licit activities; and 


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1 (8) to what extent can the immutable and trace2 able nature of virtual currencies contribute to the 

3 tracking and prosecution of illicit funding. 

4 (b) SCOPE.—For the purposes of the study required 

5 under subsection (a), the term ‘‘sex trafficking’’ means the 

6 recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtain7 ing, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose 

8 of a commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud, or 

9 coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such 

10 act has not attained 18 years of age. 

11 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen13 eral of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

14 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and 

15 the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep16 resentatives a report summarizing the results of the study 

17 required under subsection (a), together with any rec18 ommendations for legislative or regulatory action that 

19 would improve the efforts of Federal agencies to impede the 

20 use of virtual currencies and online marketplaces in facili21 tating sex and drug trafficking. 


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Union Calendar No. 607 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6069 

[Report No. 115–781, Part I] 

A BILL 

To require the Comptroller General of the United 

ficking, and for other purposes. ices associated with sex trafficking or drug trafsell, or facilitate the financing of goods or servrencies and online marketplaces are used to buy, States to carry out a study on how virtual curJUNE 25, 2018 

Reported from the Committee on Financial Services with 

J

an amendment 

UNE 25, 2018 

Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; comState of the Union and ordered to be printed mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS